Penn State reaches deal to pay $703k over gender pay discrimination allegations

A Pennsylvania public university has agreed to pay more than $700,000 to resolve alleged pay discriminations against female employees. 

Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) has entered into a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve the alleged gender pay discrimination wage gap against female employees. The university released its response on Sept. 18.

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“The agreement notes unintentional pay discrepancies for 65 female employees working at University Park,” Penn State Associate Vice President for Equal Opportunity and Access Suzanne Adair said in a press release. 

“While the number of affected employees was small relative to the overall campus population, the University takes such matters seriously and worked diligently with the government to reach a resolution that fairly compensated the affected women,” she continued. “We appreciate the government’s efforts and are pleased that the audit identified the pay anomalies so that corrective action could be taken.”

The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued a compliance review investigation saying that since July 2020, Penn State has allegedly paid many female employees less than men working in similar university positions. These positions included facility operations and maintenance, senior administrative jobs, and extension education. 

The investigative review ultimately identified 65 women that the OFCCP believes were underpaid compared to their male coworkers. The 65 women were identified from the 13,811 other women working at the University Park campus. 

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Penn State maintains a Nondiscrimination Statement that specifies that the school “is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission and employment for all persons.”

The Penn State University system also maintains a Coalition on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion across its various campuses, the purpose of which is to “enhance programming endeavors related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, increase the visibility of historically marginalized students, and improve standards and accountability for equity-minded practices.”

In August 2023, a group of women professors sued Vassar College, which was founded as a women’s college, for alleged “long-standing” gender pay discrimination 

Campus Reform has contacted Penn State University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.